First, we'll review the history of the big bad devil as recorded in scripture, and his current purpose in the world. The story begins with an anointed cherub over the throne of God who was convicted of pride and was cast down to the earth. This account in Ezekiel 14 doesn't name the cherub, but we deduce he's the same one Jesus saw fall from heaven (Luke 10:18) who is called Satan in that verse. Another falling occurs in Revelation 12:7-9. The text doesn't assure us that this is the same casting out as the one Ezekiel 14 describes, which we believe is past tense. Possibly, Revelation 12 is yet to manifest on the earth (If I sound vague in my conclusions, it is because there are multiple levels to which a scripture may apply. That results in multiple interpretations as well. Its better to see the interpretation you're currently considering as one possibility, rather than assume that its an all-inclusive interpretation. Always provide one empty parking space for the possibility that a scripture is showing us images of something intangible. Satan can be a literal person, or the manifestation of devilishness). Revelation 12, verse 9 names the outcast with four names, the great dragon, that old serpent, the Devil and Satan. Each name describes a particular "quality". The dragon - amazing appearance and power; the serpent - keen vision and wisdom; the devil - an accuser; and Satan - an adversary. Combine that into one entity and you have an intimidating, intelligent prosecuting attorney.

In the old Testament there are many manifestations of this creature, (what name shall we use) we'll just call him The Adversary. The serpent in the Garden was only his first recorded appearance. He appeared as pharaoh in Exodus, as Haman in Ester, as Sanballat in Nehemiah, as himself in Job, as Herod in Matthew, and these are only the most obvious ones. Each time, he was seeking to overcome the seed which was sure to crush his head sooner or later. That seed was Jesus of Nazareth. Prior to the cross, it had always been true of all men, as it was true of Job, that all that man had was subject to the Adversary. When Jesus fulfilled the 4000 year old prophecy to crush the headship of the Adversary, man was given the opportunity to shelter all that he had in untouchable righteousness.

Mat 12:28,29 But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you. Or else how can one enter into a strong man's house, and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man? and then he will spoil his house.

What is absolutely, positively established in these verses? Did Jesus cast out devils? Yes! Then is the kingdom of God come unto men? Yes! Did the Christ enter the earth (Satan's house)? Yes! Did He bind him and spoil his goods? Yes! He took the Keys of Death, Hell and the Grave leaving the adversary only one weapon - a big bad mouth! Why are we slow to accept this? The reason we doubt it is because we heed that same familiar voice that slithered through the tree saying, "Hath God said?" This voice comes but for to steal, kill, and destroy; and it has stolen most of the power God promised his children. First it leads you to doubt, which generates fear. In the midst of fear, we imagine we are lacking what we always have inside us, that is eternal life. From then on we work with much sweat to find the life that is within us, while running from death which has no place in us. Look at Heb 2:14,15 Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.

Hath God said, Jesus destroyed him who had the power of death? Past tense!! Yes He hath. Now don't listen to any other voices - there is nothing outside yourself that holds the power of death over you. Now tie that in with this scripture:

...so any other powers he had were destroyed prior to that. Death only has one more chance - to speak, to influence those who do have the power of life and death. If you accept a lie, and you act upon it, the results will manifest as if it were true.

It is our tongue that really separates us from the creatures of the earth. It is our creative instrument. It is out of the abundance of the heart, that the mouth speaks. Good or evil is conceived in the heart, born through the lips and manifested in the earth. This whole planet is a reflection of what we have in our hearts. It will not change until our hearts change. God told Adam to name all the animals. Whatever he called it, that's what it was. Adam is still doing that. The easiest way to create an economic recession is to tell people there's going to be one. We can make this whole planet a Garden of Eden again simply by putting an end to all judgment of good or evil and by renouncing our belief in two powers. Nothing has power except that which is given from above. God is omnipotent or He is not God.

Man has been delegated power and authority over the earth by the Lord Himself. If a king delegates authority to a duke, then within the duke's measure of rule, he has more responsibility than the king, therefore he has more authority. The king will only intervene when asked by the duke or when the duke fails to represent the king. As Christ is in you, then you are that duke. Every son of God was delegated responsibility and authority over the earth. In this way we are learning to mature as a people who will represent godliness. We would never grow up if we weren't left on our own, so our hearts may be tried. Have you heard the statement: Why does God allow starvation or murder or whatever on earth? God doesn't allow it...we do, and it will continue until we refuse to allow it. There are not many problems on the earth. There are many effects of one problem - greed. There are only two men on the whole earth - Christ and Adam.

Unless one is made alive in Christ, he is still Adam and spiritually dead. To be alive spiritually, one must be born-again (of the Spirit).

Now we have exposed the enemy of God. The one really causing all the trouble in the world. It is not the king, nor is it the Knave of Hearts. It's that carnal-minded duke!!

This is a spiritual universe created by a Spirit. Only spirit is truth. Materialism is a lie. In other words, that which appears to our five senses is an image claiming to have substance but it does not. The lie does not have to deceive us. We can play along knowing that the material world is nothing. Only spirit has substance. The eternal is real, the temporal is not. It is important that we understand just what is carnal and what is spiritual. Every moment of our lives is a decision to do one or the other.

Paul shows us here that the carnal mind is: like a babe, unlearned and undisciplined. unable to handle any deep teaching . envious. striving. divisive. Compare these to the works of the flesh.

Notice the recurring words? Here they are one more time in:

Envy and strife abound. They indicate a belief in two opposing powers. James calls the desires: earthly, sensual, devilish. The point is, its all done for the benefit of ME. That is the mark of carnal mindedness. Notice too, these earthly wants are considered devilish. Does James mean there is a devil at work in the carnal mind? Not necessarily. Let's look at envy and strife on the streets. There are two neighbors. One is a German Shepherd, the other a Labrador. The Lab finds a pork rib in a trash can and sits down to feast. The Shep sees him and wants the rib badly. He races over, intimidates the Lab with much growling, much of the same is returned, and after a brief struggle, the Lab runs off with the rib, the angry Shepherd chasing him. Devilish envy and strife! Now which dog would you say had the devil? You see, much of what we have labeled "demonic" is just plain animal behavior. Many people treat others like dogs. Politicians are not like dogs, though. They are more like reptiles. They hiss at each other, puff out their chests, and fight over any elevated position.

We say people act like the devil, but the truth may be that when the devil was acting like the devil, he was being carnal minded. Lucifer fell after statements like: "I will ascend . . .I will exalt myself . . .I will be like the most high." There's envy and strife again. You could rightly say that Lucifer was possessed by a carnal mind!

There is a myth passed down that angels in the heavenlies were cast down to earth and this is now their prison-planet. They fly around us like a flock of crows tormenting us and coercing us to disobey God. They have a unique ability to enter our minds and plant their vile behavior in our bodies. If you believe the story so far, you may as well take it one step further and believe that we ARE those bad angels. We are imprisoned not only on earth, but in earthen bodies as well. Our punishment for our rebellion is to remain in this limiting form until we learn our lesson of love and kindness, once again earning our "wings". This fantasy would make a great movie. Perhaps I should suggest it to Mr. Speilberg. It's not that far from the truth, however. Maybe just one floor down. To rise to the next level, whatever it is, the same thing is required: When you give up a measure of the "heaviness" of possessions, you move more easily in the realm of spirit. It isn't an all or nothing proposition. We drift back and forth from material to spiritual identification. Ideally, we focus greater attention on the higher, so we are gradually pulling away from form towards pure spirit.

Where does that leave us in the here and now? There is a very clear picture of what I've been describing in Revelation 13.

The dragon is the spirit of iniquity which was in the heavenlies. His evil nature was cast into the earth, manifesting as a beast-nature. We experience the beast as greed, hatred and all similar evils which "rise up out of humanity".

The beast-authority in the earth was dealt a death blow to the head when Jesus crushed his headship. He proved that the carnal mind really had no power or authority. He revealed this power to be a hoax when he overcame the deception of death with the truth of eternal life. This deadly wound appeared to be healed when the beast continued to influence the inhabitants of earth, and through deception hypnotized man to reproduce the beast nature. When men become puppets for the beast, he appears to still have his head intact.

Believers who claim they are in hand-to-hand combat with Satan himself need to meditate on Hebrews 2: 14 & 15 until they are believers in the Word of God and not in the word of Satan. He can hold you in bondage through fear of death, but not through death itself. "Who is like unto the devil? He hath really beaten me up this week! Who is able to make war with him?" The beast is decorated with medals of valor as each Christian soldier, who tells of being beaten by the enemy, gives the devil credit for wounds he is not able to inflict. These wounds are the result of sowing and reaping in the flesh. They are the wages of carnal mindedness, of an ego-ruled life, of disobedience to the will of God, of transgressing the order of God. The beast profits from this deception because as long as man blames the devil for his falling shorts, he will never deal with the carnal mind and overcome it. So, the beast's disciples continue to do their master's bidding. Carnal men also profit, relieved of embarrassment and conviction when someone else (anyone else) takes the blame for their wretched condition. Now just as we have a dragon in the heavenlies and a beast in the earth with identical motives, we have the next generation of the lower nature, a second beast with the same motives as the first beast. The second beast is the carnal man.

Can a Christian have a beast nature? A Christian can have anything he wants! A beast that looks like a lamb with horns (authority) but speaks like a dragon, describes a Christian with a beastly expression. If you have the mouth of a dragon, you must have the heart of a dragon, for out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. The carnal minded Christian will do what a wolf in sheep's clothing will do - fellowship with the sheep, gain their confidence, then bare his teeth and claws and devour what he can to fill his own flesh. If that is too harsh an illustration, these tendencies can be much more subtle. Such as . . . "Where can I get a good deal in a Christian atmosphere?"

By now you might be interpreting these verses yourself. Carnal men have all the trappings of the first beast and we give glory to the devil for causing all the hatred and greed, because they just can't admit that in their heart, they are clinging to their animal nature and have not risen to the Christ nature. The animal nature is survival-oriented. It is based in the fear of death. The Christ nature is eternal, therefore, beyond the need to survive.

Rev 13:14 And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live.

How does man make an image to the spirit of iniquity that deceives him? Some of the images are: the love of money and the deceitfulness of riches, desire for fame, power or for any earthly thing, exalting self by abasing others, and so on. I do not judge the world of these things. This is the way of the world. Judgment begins in the house of God. The Called-out of God who are not coming out are still participating in erecting an image to the beast. We are indeed promised the kingdoms of this world as an inheritance, but we are also instructed in how to acquire them. If we seek the kingdom of God and His righteousness, all these other things will be added without our seeking them. We must realize that the pursuit of happiness, or the American dream, or social and financial security is a complete deviation from the path God placed us on. We are not on a material quest! We are on a spiritual quest! Our only path, provision, and destination is God Himself.

I will say again that the power of life and death is in the tongue. All the evil that we speak into existence through our selfishness gives the appearance of life to an otherwise powerless image we call Satan. If not for the power of the creative word, Satan would have no more effect on our world than he had on Jesus in the wilderness. He was cursed by God to eat dust all the days of his life. Dust represents the earthly nature, the Adamic nature. So the serpent crawls about the earth looking for any Adams he may devour. When he looked for dust in Jesus, it says that he found nothing in Him. Jesus was the original bottomless pit, and Satan fell into Him. There was nothing for Satan to stand on because there was no carnal nature. Since there was nothing for him to eat, he left. Are we of the man of earth, or are we of the Man of heaven? If we dwell in heaven-on-earth as Jesus did (see John 3:13), then we don't have to cast out Satan - he has already been cast out of heaven.

If you don't have understanding regarding numbers, six represents man. Adam was created on the sixth day. In the Hebrew alphabet, the sixth letter is the male reproductive principle. Three sixes means you behave as a man in the realm of body, mind, and spirit. A beast in the first realm would live to satisfy his physical appetites. A beast in the mental realm would act according to the rule of his mind, will, or emotions. And a beast in the spirit realm would project destructive spiritual energy.

We really can't buy or sell unless we have the mark of the man-man-man. Buying and selling is the world system. God has another system. Give and you shall receive. Take no thought for what you will eat or drink. If a man wants your coat, give him your shirt too. Your heavenly Father will clothe you even if you neither toil nor spin. Who really lives according to God's system? Very few. For the majority of Christians, the world system is still imprinted on everything you think (the forehead), and in everything you do (the hand). You've been told that you will profit nothing if you gain the whole world yet lose your soul, but you still will not let go of the world. The world does not mean the planet, it means the world system that operates on the belief in two powers. The Greek word for "world" is "cosmos". You may be familiar with it's offspring "cosmetic"? The world is nothing but a mask worn by emptiness.

So what do we do? We have dreaded the mark of the beast all our born-again days only to find we displayed the mark every time we received a paycheck or went to the market. We pledged our allegiance to the beast every time we expressed envy, strife or greed. We don't want to be an enemy of God. The solution is simple, but not easy.

Find out what Jesus told you to do and do it! Back off on studies of the books of Revelation, or Song of Solomon, or Daniel. The beast wants to keep you in a Bible study so you think you're smart, but don't feel the need to do anything. Go to the red ink in the New Testament, read two or three lines of instruction and then go do it. If you read a whole chapter, you will never do anything. When what you have read becomes real in your experience, you can read and do another thing. How long will it take you to love your neighbor as yourself? You should be on that for some time. Again, don't try to love all your neighbors, just a neighbor. If you try to love everybody, you will end up loving nobody. Pick one neighbor and act as if there is no separation between him and you. For example, save some money and buy something he really needs. Or cut his grass. Or share food with him as if he were at your table. This is what will put an end to the world system. And those who truly separate themselves from this system will be seen standing with the Lamb on mount Zion, (Rev.14:1) and the mark on their foreheads will be the name of the Father. That is to say, the Lamb of God will be seen on the earth as a many membered body who have the nature of the living God written in their minds. They have no need for a system of buying and selling. They have adopted a system of giving and receiving. The Word of God is on their tongue and the power of the Word is in their hand. God is expressed in the fullness of glory. The enemy of God was, after all, an image with no substance in reality.